Kershaw County deputies say a man followed a 30-year-old woman who was shopping, kidnapped her, sexually assaulted her, killed her and left her body in a field on Monday.

According to investigators, Beverly Hope Melton called her grandmother on Monday afternoon and said that a man was following her near a Jefferson store and she was afraid.

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Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said that Chesterfield County deputies responded to the reported abduction and found Meltons car in a ditch on Angelus Road near Jefferson. The car was in reverse, still running, and Meltons pocketbook was still inside, deputies said.

Deputies went to the convenience store where Melton had been earlier in the day. Investigators said surveillance video from the store showed 23-year-old Nickolas Miller harassing Melton. They said the video also showed Millers vehicle.

A be-on-the-alert was issued for the vehicle, and a Chesterfield County deputy pulled Miller over a short time later, according to a police release. Miller was escorted to Jefferson Town Hall where he was questioned. Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker said Miller admitted to kidnapping Melton, sexually assaulting her and then beating her to death.

Investigators, assisted by a SLED helicopter using infrared radar, found Melton's body in a field behind two abandoned turkey barns. The release said that investigators determined Miller killed Melton off Sandy Grove Road in the Mt. Pisgah area of Kershaw County.

Matthews said, "This was a horribly brutal and senseless crime -- one of the worst I have ever seen. To our knowledge, Ms. Melton did not know her killer. Since the actual homicide took place in Kershaw County, the Kershaw County Sheriff's Office will take over the homicide investigation. I must give credit where it is due. Chesterfield authorities jumped on this case with a vengeance. They are the ones who solved this crime."

Miller is being held on a murder charge in the Kershaw County Detention Center. Chesterfield authorities will charge Miller with kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct.